Made in the USA: 10 Statistics About Small Businesses That Make Our Nation Great
Every year, the Fourth of July is an important reminder of our heritage as Americans. While our nation is a “melting pot” of cultures and backgrounds, there are some core characteristics that permeate our history, including a commitment to innovation, hard work, and the willingness to take business risks on ventures that change the world. With this year’s 245th celebration of our independence still fresh in our minds, today we will highlight some astounding statistics about American businesses that showcase their uniqueness and impact on the world.
1) Starting from scratch: 7 out of 10 owners founded their own business.
It is a testament to the do-it-yourself nature of American entrepreneurship that the overwhelming majority of business owners started it themselves rather than purchasing an existing business. Just like designing a dress from the ground up gives you the best possible product, so too do entrepreneurs recognize that the best way to realize their dreams is to make something the world has never seen before.
2) Breaking barriers: Women-owned U.S. businesses employ 9.4 million Americans.
So many Americans enjoy regular employment thanks to female entrepreneurs in the nearly 1.1 million American businesses owned by women. These companies create essential economic mobility for both their owners and employees and are slowly but surely creating a nation where everyone feels empowered to succeed on their own terms. Fun bonus fact: 99.9% of these women-owned businesses are small businesses (including Edgington Studio)!
3) Entrepreneurial diversity: Over one million businesses employing Americans are minority-owned.
One of the many benefits of an open economy where anyone can start a business is the ability of any hard-working person to create their own opportunities, even in areas where few previously existed. These businesses and their owners are helping to lift employees out of poverty, revitalize neighborhoods, and inspire other individuals to take up the entrepreneurial mantle and create value by serving others.
4) Building businesses, building people: 82% of small businesses supply on-the-job training (OJT) to their employees.
Most Americans recognize that the way to move up in the world is by making themselves more valuable, traditionally by improving their education and skills. While some might prefer the traditional route of attending college or technical school, many are able to achieve their financial goals through learning new skills offered by their employers. This is a great opportunity for those without the financial means or time to attend schools, and simultaneously helps both the employee and the employer to achieve more. We believe in that very strongly here at the Studio, which is why we provide guidance and instruction to help our seamstresses become even better at their craft.
5) Perseverance: 43.7% of small businesses in the US were temporarily closed due to Covid-19 shutdowns.
While the long-term consequences of the shutdowns remain to be seen, small business owners have worked hard to keep their heads above water during the government-mandated closures. Yet another characteristic that exemplifies Americans is that of perseverance and the willingness to march onward no matter the opposition. The path of the entrepreneur is a difficult one, though it is a risk many are willing to take to realize their dreams. Indeed, many even saw this challenging period in our history as an opportunity and founded new businesses in the middle of the pandemic (including us)!
6) Putting the free in freelancer: 42% of US small businesses employ freelance workers.
A whopping 64.6 million Americans worked as freelancers in 2020, with that number expected to climb to 90.1 million by 2028. The quintessential drive for many citizens in the U.S. is the pursuit of freedom, and freelance work offers that to the millions who engage in it to earn their livelihoods. Offering schedule flexibility and individual choice, freelance work arrangements can help both the freelancers and businesses to meet their needs, and that flexibility is the main reason we offer such arrangements to our contractors at Edgington Studio.
7) Self-starters: 57% of small business owners use their personal savings as a primary source of capital when starting their companies.
Solid financial management is the cornerstone of any successful business, and it is a testament to the risk-taking mindset of Americans that so many new entrepreneurial ventures are started using their own hard-earned money instead of bank loans. This is especially valuable in an environment where it is increasingly difficult to get credit for their small businesses, with roughly 20% of all applicants being turned down. Greatness comes from small beginnings, and there is no better way to feel invested in your enterprise than to fund it yourself.
8) Surfing the business web: 61% of small businesses have a website.
Since America is the birthplace of the internet and its supporting technologies, it should come as no surprise that so many of its small businesses take advantage of the opportunity to advertise their good and services via their own websites. While 80% of those with websites do not make an active effort to curate their content for the sake of outreach and marketing to their customers, that number is growing smaller every year as businesses recognize how valuable it is to do so. Want proof that it really works? You are reading some of that curated content right now!
9) Shopping at home: 80% of U.S. shoppers prefer American-made goods.
People value goods made in the USA, not only because they love to support their fellow Americans but also because American-made goods are widely perceived as being superior in quality. Shoppers put their money where their mouths are, too: 60% of shoppers were willing to pay 10% more for goods and services produced right here in the United States. We founded Edgington Studio on the principle of closing the gap for domestic production of high-quality sewn goods, and it has been our experience that those who truly desire the best products purchase American-made goods.
10) Family first: Nearly 1 in 5 small businesses are family-owned in the U.S.
Entrepreneurship and innovation do not exist in a vacuum, they are taught (or self-taught) and passed down from generation to generation. Family-owned businesses are a linchpin of the American economy, not only for what they produce but also for their tendency to create new generations of self-starters. When it comes down to it, America is only as good as the people who comprise it, so ensuring that our children are disciplined, sensible, and future-focused is the key to continue building the nation we love.
The founding principles of the United States are what has kept us together over the past few centuries and united us against challenges both domestic and abroad. So long as we hold fast to what has made us great and resilient, we will continue to produce and encourage the innovators, thought leaders, and entrepreneurial icons who keep raising our quality of life and making our nation the best possible place to raise our children in. In the meantime, we here at Edgington Studio will do our part to carry the torch. We hope you had an excellent Fourth of July, and to all of our fellow Americans out there, let freedom ring!
SOURCES:
Small Business Association, sba.gov, “Paths to Business Ownership” https://cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/23095429/Paths-to-Business-Ownership-fact-sheet.pdf
Small Business Association, sba.gov, “Spotlight on Women-Owned Employer Businesses” https://cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/22170128/Small-Business-Facts-Spotlight-on-Women-Owned-Employer-Businesses.pdf
Small Business Association, sba.gov, “Spotlight on Minority-Owned Employer Businesses” https://cdn.advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/31131339/Small-Business-Facts-Spotlight-on-Minority-Owned-Employer-Businesses.pdf
National Small Business Association, “Key Facts About Small Businesses” https://nsba.biz/
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS. https://www.pnas.org/
Forbes Magazine, https://www.forbes.com/
